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It is grace that takes you from where you are, to where God wants you to be. God is the Head over all, and He is the Leader of your life, all through your life. King David, as he neared the end of his life, acknowledges with gratitude, the greatness of the God whose goodness and leadership he had experienced, thus – “Yours O Lord is the greatness, the power and the glory, and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom O Lord, and you are exalted as Head over all.Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand is power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all”. [1 Chronicles 29:11,12]
How does God lead you in life?
Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. [Romans 8:14] As a child of God, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, where He resides to lead and guide you. And in unknown ways He leads you. In the unfamiliar paths of life He is there to guide you. God leads you into something new – something greater than what you have already seen. He therefore says to you – Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing, now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. [Isaiah 43:18,19]
Dealing with the old
The Lord counsels you to stop dwelling on the things that have already happened. For, it is only when you let go of your past that you can progress forward into the new. It sounds simple, but applying it is not that easy. Still, the wise course of action would be to take twenty four hours, to celebrate a success, or mourn over a failure, and then continue to move forward. And what sets you free from recalling the past, in order to proceed in the path ahead is the understanding and application of God’s Word – the revelation truth.
When the past comes calling
You may not voluntarily recall a thought from your painful past, but it can still come calling, uninvited. It is when other people, or the evil one – who is the accuser of the brethren, or your own inner self even, suddenly bring to your remembrance the unfortunate events of the past that you have forgotten. The book of Lamentations in the Bible, as the very name suggests, is predominantly about sadness, sorrow and tears. In fact the prophet Jeremiah who has written it, is often described as the ‘weeping prophet’! But in the midst of lamentations- there is hope that is powerfully portrayed. And it reveals the key to overcoming your negative thoughts to move forward in the path of success.
‘My soul remembers’
‘I remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall. My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me’. [Lamentation 3:19,20] Even holy men of God can go through times of intense sorrow. It is what Jeremiah narrates – ‘I am a child of God, a prophet, who hears from God to speak it out, but still, I remember my afflictions – the bitter experiences, the antagonism of people.’
And it is why he says he is bowed down on the inside. He describes himself to be like a scared little child that is curled up in a fetal position. It can happen in any child of God because every experience that you go through in life, both bitter and sweet is stored in the sub conscious mind. You may even think you have forgotten it all – but when you see something troubling, suddenly it can all come flooding back in your mind with enhanced memory! It is possible to overcome it all though, and move forward to new things; it is what Jeremiah sets forth as he continues further.
‘And yet – there is hope’
The prophet of God is honest in acknowledging the sorrow in his soul, but also goes on to declare his hope. Hope is a joyful expectation, an eager anticipation of what God is going to do in your life, in accordance with His word. And this is what Jeremiah recalls in order to overcome and progress.
Recalling to overcome
‘But this I recall, and therefore I have hope – The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. [Lamentation 3:21-23] When you are a child of God, even if you feel helpless at times, you are never hopeless – for your hope is in the Almighty God. It is in His grace and mercy, His greatness, and His faithfulness that you find your hope. For even when we are faithless He remains faithful.
The shifting of focus
Therefore, it is not in recalling your mistakes and problems, what you have done, but by remembering His nature, and what He has done for you, that you overcome and move towards the new. And then, the declaration of Jeremiah in his moment of breakthrough, can be yours too, as you proclaim ‘The Lord is my portion’ says my soul. Therefore I will hope in Him. [Lamentation 3:24]
It sounds simple, but it can be a struggle, especially when you settle down to pray. You may often find your thoughts digressing in wrong paths, to end up spoiling the effectiveness of your prayer.
Combating the negative thoughts
The scriptures are the key to ridding your mind of negativity, the wrong thoughts from your past, the old that refuses to go away. It is when you win in your mind that you can win in your life. And for this fight of faith, God gives you weapons that are divinely empowered. You enter into battle therefore, not as a mere man, but as a man or woman of God.
Indeed, we walk in the flesh, but we do not wage war according to the flesh. [2 Corinthians 10:3] The ‘flesh’ is the world system. It is a system of operation where the human ‘self’ is at the centre. But the human ‘self’, or the nature of the flesh is corrupted and tainted by sin. And it is why self – help books are of no help at all in ridding the negativity, the former things that are still embedded in your mind. A fallen man trying to help himself, or help others, would be of no avail.
What can a man who is dead in transgressions say to help you? It would only be to drag you deeper into darkness and ignorance. It is why there are no five steps, or seven step formulas prescribed in the Bible. There is only one way – He is Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. And it is not following the world system, but the revelation of God’s Word that sets you free.
The weapons of your warfare
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. [2 Corinthians 10:4] You have divinely powerful weapons in the Word of God, to overcome the wrong thoughts that come in your mind. A worrying thought that is dwelt on for too long will become a stronghold in your mind, refusing to leave. It is in the physical realm like the stain in your clothing, which when left untreated for a long time, becomes difficult to remove, and may even end up damaging the material when you try to do it.
But, with the Lord, and the weapon of His word, you will know and operate in the truth that – There is a fountain filled with Blood, drawn from Immanuel’s vein, and sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stain. The Word of God is the weapon of warfare that can destroy every ungodly and fearful stronghold that has occupied your mind.
Casting down arguments
Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. [2 Corinthians 10:5] You do not need another person to argue with! For with questions like, ‘What if this happens, or does not happen?’ you can have arguments and speculations running riot in your mind, silently within yourself. But, the Word of God has divine power to demolish and bring down every wrong thought that exalts itself, and arrest and overcome all arguments within you.
Taking the thought captive & obedient unto Christ:
Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. [2 Corinthians 10:5] Making every thought obedient to Christ, is making it obedient to God’s Word, for Christ is the Eternal Word. It is with the word of God that you take every thought captive, arresting it and rendering it ineffective.
Confessing the Word – your authority
The Word of God is like the warrant of arrest that authorities employ when they take the person who is guilty of breaking the law into their custody. Similarly, when an anxious thought comes into your mind to disturb your peace, you have the authority and the power to arrest it by saying the suitable word of God. So, ‘do not be anxious about anything, but in everything with prayer and supplication make your requests known to God’, is the Word that you receive in your heart, and proclaim with your mouth, to take the anxious thought captive and make it obedient to Christ, the Living Word.
Every lock has a key
To every problem there is a promise in the Word of God. Therefore, study the Word of God to know what God has already spoken concerning it, and open your mouth to confess it. For it is the key to open the door and walk into the blessing of God. The Bible is like a bunch of keys in your hand. The keys of the kingdom of heaven have been given to you, that you may have dominion over your thoughts and every aspect of your life.
It is the key to bring health and healing to you. And it is why spending time in the word of God every day is vitally important. For then at the right time, the Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance the relevant word of promise that you need to proclaim and overcome the battle in your soul.
‘What shall I say ?’
The Savior remains forever the prime example for each and every child of God. He understands your every pain and stress. He went through stress that no one can ever imagine – stress that made Him sweat drops of blood!
There are choices and options in life that come to every person, at some point or the other. They may be even very troubling ones. But looking unto Jesus, and in the leading of the Spirit, you can deal with them. The Lord dealt with choices; unimaginably troubling ones, as He drew near His death on the Cross. It is reflected in His words- Now my soul is troubled, And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your Name. Then a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. [John 12:27]
Here, Jesus shows the way to handle a problem in life that involves options and making choices, as He practically works it out in His own life. ‘What shall I say?’ the Lord says, when the normal response of any person would be to think, ‘What shall I do about it?’ But, life and death are in the power of the tongue, God’s word declares. And it is what you say, that will determine what you do to overcome your problem – and what you do determines your destiny.
‘Father, glorify your Name’
The Lord made the choice to say, ‘For this purpose, I came into the world. Father, glorify your Name’. And the Father responds in positive confirmation. Yes, when you speak the word, the rhema word that God gives, into your circumstance, the One who gave you the word will indeed confirm it in your life with signs and wonders. The electric bulb in your home gives light only when you switch it on. In similar manner, the power of the word of God is executed in your life only when you speak it out in faith. And the whole of heaven stands behind you to back your confession. It will then see God bring about the positive change in your circumstance, that His Name may be glorified, and that you may see new and greater things come to pass in your life.
The new thing that is greater
On forgetting the past, the former things, the Lord then invites the Israelites to perceive the new thing that He has now begun to do in their lives – ‘Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.’ [Isaiah 43:19]
The rivers in the desert
The Israelites in their wilderness journey, on two instances experienced thirst, a lack of water that was satisfied in miraculous, unknown ways by God. And they were both more than mere miracles, for the old testament being a shadow of the New Testament, they point to Christ on two levels – what He was going to do, and what He has done to fulfill all your need.
a) Striking the Rock
Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink. [Exodus 17:6] It was the instruction of God that came to Moses as he pleaded on behalf of the Israelites, who were complaining because they had no water. Water gushed out even as Moses struck the Rock. And the New Testament explains it further – And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. [2 Corinthians 10:4] Thus, the deeper truth underlying the miracle was what Christ was going to do on the Cross, to satisfy your thirst, meet all your need.
Healed by His stripes
And one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately, blood and water came out. [John 19:34] It is the message of the Cross, where the Savior of the world was struck down by God and afflicted. But, He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities.The chastisement for our peace was upon Him- And by His stripes [blows that cut in] we are healed. [Isaiah 53:5]
The miraculous provision of water in the desert was a fore-shadowing of the Cross, where Christ, the Rock, was struck, that you may be made whole, experiencing no thirst or lack. Therefore there is a shifting of focus in the new covenant, to what Christ has already done, for you and I, and the sins of the whole world. It is reflected in the instruction of God to Moses, when the people were once again faced with a lack of water to drink. The scarcity was the same, but God’s command was something new, signifying something greater
b) Speak to the Rock
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying –‘Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes, to yield water. Thus you shall bring water out of the rock for them; thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock. [Numbers 20:7,8] ‘Speak to the Rock, in your time of need’, God says to you now, for Christ has accomplished it all on the Cross of Calvary to meet your every need.
Make your requests known to Him
In order to prevent anxious or worrying thoughts from disturbing you, it is what the apostle Paul counsels – Do not be anxious about anything; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. [Philippians 4:6] Call unto Me, and I will answer you. [Jeremiah 33:3] It is His promise to you. And the God of heaven, the One who hears your prayer is in you. He will never disappoint you. You can arrest and take captive every anxious thought. It is by speaking what Christ, who is the Living word in you, speaks to you through the scriptures. Speak to God first, rather than turning to people who may end up confusing you. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:7]
Rivers of living water
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’. [John 7:37,38] Speak to the Rock, who is Christ, the tried and tested precious cornerstone. He will give you a deeper understanding of God’s word that you may grow from strength to strength, from glory to glory till you appear in Zion.
In the glory of the new covenant that is greater, the Holy Spirit, the fountain of living water is flowing in you. He will lead you, guide you and empower you to move forward into the new thing that God has in store for you – a new destiny. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
